Steps I’m Taking for Earth Day

Did you know that Earth Day is the largest secular holiday, celebrated by more than 175 countries and half a billion people each year? The holiday was begun in 1970 by Gaylord Nelson, a U.S senator at the time. He wanted to start a grassroots approach to awareness of the environment; he never could have imagined how popular and influential his holiday would eventually become. Even the first Earth Day, April 22, 1970, was wildly successful, with 20 million Americans participating. This marked the beginning of the modern environmental movement. Earth Day is now coordinated by the Earth Day network, which can be found here. 

Taking care of our environment makes good sense. The earth is ours to use for resources, but at the same time, we should have a sort of mutual respect for it. The earth gives to us- energy, water, food, resources, et al- and we should give back to it. 

Giving back is simple. There are so many small things you can do to make a big difference. I think, however, that the main reason many of us do not change our habits is lack of convenience. It is easier for us to continue using our old light bulbs, to toss the plastic water bottle in the trash, and to drive down the street instead of walking. This is why today, on Earth Day, I would encourage you to take a few simple steps to make the process of becoming environmentally friendly easier for you. Here are a few examples. 

Yesterday, I made a trip to Target. I always want to recycle, but I always end up throwing things away because it’s easier that way. To solve this, I bought some plastic handled totes at Target to keep around in various places. My plan is to keep one in my car and one in my house and to place recyclable items such as paper and empty bottles in them. If this is just as easy to access as my trash can, I should have no problems with recycling. The closest recycling center to me is the one located at Ikea, so that’s where I’ll take my plastic totes (which are also really easy to carry around) every week. 

Also, I want to stop using so many plastic water bottles. Being a college student, I typically buy a case of bottled water every week or two. I don’t refill them because I feel the water from my sink is unclean. However, I have wasted an enormous amount of plastic through this practice. When I go home for the summer, it will be much easier to stop using bottles because I will have access to a fridge with a built in water filter. When I move back out again, I plan to buy a Brita water pitcher and some re-usable bottles to drastically reduce the amount of plastic I consume. 

These are just a few things I’m doing, and I encourage you to take small steps of your own to give back to the environment. The environment is not inexhaustible; we need to take care of it now so it can continue to take care of us later.